A Damned Soul
by Russingon5eva
Summary: Okay, now I'm back. I'm still writing HDIGMIT..I've just hit a dead end for the moment. So this is just basically a prequel to Goodbye Swan Prince. But it can stand alone.


**Prompt 60: Starter Sentence - "The cemetery was rather quiet on _'s annual visit."**

**_Example_****is spoken elvish.**

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The cemetery was rather quiet on Maglor's annual visit. There weren't any birds singing and the wind had died down enough to be silent. He honestly didn't know why he kept coming back here. He knew a total of none of the people buried here. No reason to keep coming back. And yet, he still did. Something felt familiar here…some strange fëanorian fixation with death and the dead. That must have been it. The foul stench of death hanging over the place drew his damned soul in like a fish hooked on a line. The feel of something he would never be able to receive. The damned are always drawn in by death and so hence; cemeteries. This was the largest cemetery Maglor had ever had the "pleasure" of coming across. Centuries worth of destroyed and hidden graves only added to the already numerous graves in the area that were known. It all added up to too many dead bodies to count and that subconsciously drew he of the damned to it.

After what seemed like hours of just pacing, he found himself before a tombstone so faded that it became nearly impossible for even him to make out the writing. Once he did, he rocked back on his heels in badly concealed shock. The letters were a familiar script, a barely remembered echo of his past. They were too faint for him to be able to read the actual words, but the language was hauntingly familiar. On the stone, the only legible thing he could see was a carving of an enormous and powerful wolfhound; raised on its hind legs with paws out-splayed. Its challenger was a darker - though no less enormous - werewolf and even through the carving, Maglor was able to see a glint of insanity in its wild eyes. He reached up to touch the wolfhound and in doing so, he cleared a less-faded clump of flowing elven script. "_Huan_," His fingers traced in astonishment. He stood on shaking knees and stared down at what he was now sure was Huan's grave. "_You were a wonderful dog, Huan_." He whispered, "_But in the end, you tore Celegorm apart. I hope you're happy_." Barely realizing what he was doing, he kicked a clump of dirt at Huan's grave and glared down at his proud form. "What are you doing?!"

Maglor snapped around. "_Quiet! You do not understand!_" He yelled at the human behind him. The young boy took a nervous step back and Maglor sighed. "_I am sorry. I did not mean to snap._" The boy still looked scared and Maglor realized that the boy could not understand. "_Am I stupid?_" He muttered and the stranger turned to run. "Wait!" He cried out, taking a step forward. The boy stopped running and looked back at him. "Why are you disrespecting Huan's grave?" He asked, pronouncing it as "Huw-an"

"It's who-on," Maglor said, feeling like he had to correct him. "And I'm just mad at him because he abandoned my brother for_Luthien_." He spat her name like it was a poison. The boy looked uncomfortable and Maglor took pity on him. "Huan was a wolfhound, child."

"Oh." The boy's cheeks colored red and Maglor smiled faintly.

"What does the carving represent?"

Maglor sighed deeply, lost in memories for a moment. "It was his last battle as I understand. It was prophesied he would fall only to the greatest werewolf to ever live and he did - defending that pathetic mortal Beren."

"What's wrong with mortals?"

Maglor sighed. "Nothing." He turned his head away. "Drop it. It doesn't concern you."

The boy nodded nervously, "Do you know what that says?" He pointed to another set of letters on the tombstone that Maglor hadn't seen earlier. He glanced at it.

"A brave soul dearly departed, may he go where the grasses are thickest and the deer run wild." He said after a few minutes and snorted. "Sindar." He muttered, but didn't say anything else.

"Who are you?"

"My name was Maglor. Who is asking?"

"Robert Brandonson, sir."(1) The boy said hesitantly and Maglor put a hand on his shoulder.

"You want to know more about Huan?"

"Yes, please!" The boy nodded eagerly. Though Maglor wasn't why he was saying anything at all to Robert, he began talking about Huan and Celegorm as he steered them away from the graveyard. Surprisingly, it didn't hurt as much as he had always expected it too.

_Huan's final resting place lay undisturbed from that time unto the world's ending._

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**1: Yes, that is the same name as the man from ****_Goodbye, Swan Prince_****. Done intentionally.**


End file.
